Monday, January 30, 2006

Corn Chowder

Last night I made corn chowder using the recipe in the latest issue of PeTA's Animal Times(I also tried to make the coconut- chocolate mousse recipe in my iSi cream whipper with disastrous, runny, very non-moussey results -- has anyone else made this successfully?). I left out the onions, leeks, kale, and peppers for Little shmoo. This morning I woke up early and baked blueberry-banana-oat bran muffins. I packed one for lunch along with organic orange slices and baby lima beans.Verdict: This chowder had a great flavor even without the onions. He ate everything else but ran out of time for the orange, so he saved it for his after-school snack. 4 stars.P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to vote for the Bloggie Awards. Please spread the word and vote for yours truly for Best Food Blog, and thanks to everyone who has already voted!

37 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I've been reading your blog nearly since the beginning, and I find you and your son inspirational. Thank you for your innovative lunch ideas that everyone can appreciate! You are certainly making a difference in the world through your choices, your actions, and the way you lead by example. Thank you.

Yup...my vote went in a few days ago. I hope you get it! And BTW...I have several friends from various veggie websites that talk about your blog and try out the recipes. The Tofu Fish seems to be the current favorite. :)

Ooh. Another delicious looking meal. Although, for me, the onions, leeks, kale, and peppers would have been the best part of the soup. It's been ages since I've had a blueberry muffin. Very envious of shmoo :)

Hi, Mcauliflower -- Yes, I just found them online at VegCooking, so I linked to them in the post. Maybe somebody with more cream siphon experience can help me here. I used lowfat coconut milk, think that made a difference?

Last night I conjured up a Southwestern Corn and Potato Soup from the Moosewood Low Fat cookbook and it was so delicious! (I posted a pic yesterday, if you happen to be interested). No oil, so the veggies really shine through. Today it doubled as my lunch. Highly recommended if you are ever looking for a new recipe to try.

Ah ha! Nope, it was lowfat coconut milk. I had a feeling that might have something to do with it...

Oh, those limas: I open up a can, drain and rinse them off, and put them in the lunch box. We discovered how good they were on our big train trip across the country this summer. We had to pack all our food and had no way to chill or warm things up, so I bought lots of pop-top cans of veggies. Limas were shmoo's favorite; he got mad when we asked him to share.

hello, i saw the report about your blog on the local news this evening (kvew 42). i'm not vegan or vegetarian, altough i have an interest in it. either way, i am interested in healthy and delicious food for my family.

your blog is great, i already bookmarked it! the blueberry banana oat bran muffins look yummy, is there a recipe somewhere? oh, and i know we don't have any whole foods stores and the like around here, so i was wondering where you find things?

Jennifershmoo: I would be interested to know what foods you packed for your cross country train trip. I'm vegan and may be traveling to Oregon next fall. It's been on my mind what things to pack that would not need heating or refrigeration. The cans of veggies with pop tops sound GREAT. I've also seen the little boxes of EdenSoy milk that I plan to get. Thanks.

Hi, Tri-City Mama (love the name) -- I made up the muffins to use up some ripe bananas I had. I don't know how far back you go in the Tri-Cities, but do you remember Jennifer's Bakery? I was aiming for her banana-blueberry-oat bran muffins. Man, I still miss her store!

I shop mostly at Fred Meyer in their health food section, and Highlands Health Food. I also mail order some things I can't find around here. Re. the veggies, they are cooked in the morning and then sealed in the lunch box; by lunchtime they aren't hot anymore but the shmoo doesn't seem to mind.

Hi, vegan_1! I really, really can't stand storebought veggie broth, so I have a recipe for roasted veggie broth that I like to use (it will be in my cookbook). If I don't have time to make my own I'll use water mixed with a little dehydrated vegetable seasoning (like Vegebase or Gayelord Hauser's instant vegetable broth).

i found your blogs when iw ent to vote for tree hugger and some others in the bloggies, and i looked at your blog and was very happy to have found it and voted for you right away. since then i have been reading your blog often and have been finding a lot of inspiration to cook stuff. we had fondue last night. i didn't follow your recipe, i generally never follow recipes just like to look at them and then make up my own based on them. anyhow you have an awsome blog

>I chilled the mixture in the refrigerator before adding it to the siphon

Oh, I put it in the siphon and then chilled it. Okay, chill first, use full fat coconut milk. I will try again!

Hi, Denise! Yes, I buy vegan household products, soaps, and cosmetics, too. I really like the "Mrs. Meyer's" products I've been using lately -- they smell wonderful and really cut through that "little boy funk" we get in our bathroom. LOL!

Hi, Starla! Let's see, we packed little boxes of soymilk and juice, tofu jerky, trail mix, peanut butter with pretzels for dipping, rice crackers with shelf-stable jars of hummus, fruit cups, breakfast bars and organic vegan food bars, and lots of those great pop-top beans & veggies. Not the healthiest diet in the world, but it was the best we could do on the train. Have fun on your trip!

I just went and voted exclusively for your blog. It's really wonderful stuff! Makes me feel bad for all those young kids out there who don't know what they're missing because their parents make poor nutritions choices for them from Day One. (McDonald's French fries for toddlers, anyone?) It also makes me feel bad for mothers out there who don't realize what they're doing to their children! You're such an inspiration, and you deserve that grand prize! ;-)

Your Blog has inspired me. I can't wait till your book is ready! I'm a "young" professional and I have learned alot about lunch from you. I wanted something other than fastfood, but didn't know what to put into my new bento boxes. My friends assume that only people with more time at home can do this, but I've picked up that you do: vegetable, fruit, bean or tofu, bread, and mini desert. I think I'm capable of the big picture, with help from the store for the more time intensive things.

I certainly voted for you wonderful blog. I'm curious on how you can make muffins without eggs.

From Austin, Texas... Healthy-food grocery-store capitol of the World.

I voted for your blog! :) I love it! Thanks for the corn chowder recipe. I think I'll need to try it out! It looks really yummy. Yesterday, I had a Moroccan lentil/chickpea soup for lunch- perfect on a rainy day! :)

Someone asked about making muffins w/o eggs. I don't know how Jennifer does it but I use Ener-g Egg Replacer. It comes in a can and I bought it in Whole Foods but I've seen it in a lot of places. If you follow the directions then it works well in baked goods.

Hi, vegan_1 -- I happened to have some vegan cream cheese on hand, so I did add it. I think it added a nice "chowdery" undertone. But it's only 1 TB, so if I didn't have any around I would make it without; I think it would still be very good.

Baking without eggs! Ener-g is widely available and easy to use. However, I never use it myself. Most of my recipes just don't have eggs in them, with no special substitute, and you don't miss them. Sometimes I use ground flax seeds (1 TB ground flax whirred up with 3 TB water = one egg).

Hi again, Sorry this isn't related to the chowder, but I noticed the egg question. Regarding the egg substitute, I use a banana in place of eggs in any baking recipes. Cookies, Muffins, pancakes.. Just mash mash mash, and I've never had a problem.